<p>Help - please- new parent in the upcoming college process</p>
<p>We purchased a pre paid tuition plan from the state of Illinois when our son was 6. He is now a junior in high school and looking into various college choices. Do we bother to fill out the fafsa?? If he goes to a public univ. in illinois we will only need to cover his room/board and fees. </p>
<p>also, how will this affect his admissions prospects? does it matter to the school?</p>
<p>thanks in advance for any help</p>
<p>yes. fill out the fafsa anyway. he may be able to receive scholarships. it doesn’t hurt to get it a try.</p>
<p>Yes, fill out the fafsa. You might get some money towards room and board. I don’t think colleges care whether or not you have the pre-paid tuition because they get their money.</p>
<p>Your foresight for your son’s education is commendable. </p>
<p>FAFSA treats the value of a pre-paid tuition plan or 529 plan as an asset and not necessarily money earmarked for college. I would suggest calling the fin aid office at some of the schools your son is considering and see how they treat your plan. In addition, you can check out some of the fin aid calculators to get a rough idea where you stand fin aid wise. If you do qualify for financial aid at a state university it would most likely be in the form of loans, (not really fin aid as far as I’m concerned, just a payment plan)</p>
<p>As for impact on admissions, it depends upon the policy of the school. Are they need blind or need aware?</p>
<p>thanks everyone- - i will try the fina aid calc. and also call the schools he’s interested in.</p>
<p>we are very grateful now for the advise we rec’d about the pre-paid tuition plan. with the past downturns in the market i often wonder what our plan b would be. the cost of room and board was very suprising and when you add in all the incidentals it is as much as the tuition!!!</p>
<p>If you are eligible for the Pell Grant then you will be able to use it for room and board. Also try for local high school scholarships.</p>